Ball State Captures First MAC Title since 2009

Photo credit David Dermer

It was No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the MAC Women’s Basketball Championship down at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The match up between two giants of the MAC, Ball State Cardinals (No. 1) and Toledo Rockets (No. 2), did not disappoint. In the end, the Cardinals’ grit and toughness down the stretch lifted the team to a 65-58 win, its first MAC title since 2009. 

One team was led by 13-year veteran coach Brady Sallee of Ball State  (who hadn’t yet won a MAC championship in his time at Ball State) and the other by first-year coach Ginny Boggess of Toledo. While Boggess is no rookie coach, having most recently coached at Monmouth University and before that a life long assistant coach at some of the biggest programs in the country ( Penn State, Marquette) the fact that a senior-heavy Toledo team stayed behind (Previous coach Tricia Cullop left for Miami University) to play under Boggess’s leadership made for an intriguing side story to this match up. 

Both teams started the game a bit jittery, with several uncharacteristic turnovers. At the first media timeout, the Cardinals led 8-5, getting four points from forward Alex Richards.

The Cardinals expanded the lead to 12-7, but the Rockets bounced back quickly to tie it at 12 with the help of a Khera Goss three-pointer from the right baseline.

Into the second quarter, the game continued to be a game of defensive stops. However, the Rockets were able to jump on top 20-16 in the closing minutes with another big three-pointer from Goss. 

However, Ball State fought back with the traditional three-point play and a bucket and one from Elise Stucky. That was followed by a basket from Ally Beck to give them a brief 21-20 lead.  The Rockets’ Kendall Carruthers, though, stepped into a confident three-pointer to help her team take the lead into the break at 24-21.

The intensity picked up between these two MAC powerhouses as they traded buckets to open the 3rd quarter. Goss and Carruthers continued to make some shots, and Toledo’s floor general Sammi Mikonowicz made a nice fadeaway from left of the lane. Richards continued to make shots to keep the Cardinals within striking distance. At the three-minute mark, Toledo continued to lead 40-38. 

Things got heated in the latter stages of the quarter as there were multiple player tie ups and delays in play on the court as tempers flared with both teams fighting for the title.  At the one-minute mark, Cardinals Lachelle Austin nailed a three-pointer from the right side to give her team the 43-40 3rd quarter lead. 

That energy continued into the fourth quarter as Madelyn Bischoff got a three-pointer from the right to drop and give her Ball State team a big 48-42 lead at the 6:47 mark, which forced a Toledo timeout. 

Richards then got a basket to drop from the lane to extend the lead to 50-42. Later, the Cardinals got a steal, and Austin found Richards again at the rim for two more to push the lead to 52-42 at the 4:34 media timeout. 

It continued to be the Richard’s show down the stretch as she kept making shots around the basket and Ball State led 60-49. Richards finished with 28 points on the night. Ally Becki finished with 12 points. Lachelle Austin added 8 points. Marie Kiefer put in 7 points. Madelyn Bischoff added 3 points, but it was probably the biggest bucket of the night as it gave the Cardinals a bit of a cushion halfway through the final quarter.

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The big win for Ball State and its coach Salley really meant a lot to him as he discussed after the game, “ I’ve been a coach for 21 years and this (a championship) has eluded me…we’ve had teams that could do it here and at other programs. I think back to when I coached Eastern Illinois, like you know we’re in the championship game and there’s a frickin tornado outside, so we had to go to the parking garage during the game and then have to come back out and try and win…it’s just been some crazy stuff and you know as I’m getting older, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you this was something that was important.”

For the Ball State players they were obviously ecstatic after the game and had high praise for their coach. The floor general Ally Becki summed it up best, “ He’s put his heart into this program for our four years here and all those teams before us. So we’ve done all this for him and us and its just been a great journey because he took a chance on all of us… He saw the potential in all of us… I’m so grateful for him.”

It was a truly epic battle between these two storied and successful basketball programs in college basketball. The second half was a back-and-forth boxing match where each team took its punches, and in the end, the Cardinals had just enough toughness to help them climb that latter in Cleveland.

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For the game, the Rockets were led in scoring by Kendall Carruthers who put in 17 points. Sammi Mikonowicz added 12 points and 6 boards, plus she had 5 steals. Khera Goss dropped 11 points. For the Rockets’ postseason possibilities, they will likely get a bid to either the WNIT or WBI. 

For the Cardinals they will be going dancing at the NCAA Tournament next week. We will keep NEOSI readers up to date on these two teams’ progress over the next weeks.